The new video and song fell painfully flat, but the light show was nifty and the introductions brimmed with rah-rah enthusiasm before the Kings' first game at Staples Center this season.

The festivities — mercifully — were brief, but that wasn't the only difference between Monday's opener and the events the Kings staged to launch last season. This time there was no Stanley Cup banner to raise or title to defend.

"It kind of feels like we had something taken away from us last year, which angers me," winger Justin Williams said.

"Every team at the start of the season, whether they believe it or not, they say, 'Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup,' where it might not be realistic. But certainly here it's a belief that if we bring our best game forward, we're the best."

Five years ago, that sentiment would have been laughable. But the process that built the 2012 championship team and the moves General Manager Dean Lombardi made to keep the roster largely intact have created an expectation of success.

"We feel like we can be the best team in the league as long as we play our game and work as hard as we can to play our systems properly. I think we have a good shot once again."

A key reason to agree is that defensemen Willie Mitchell and Matt Greene are back and playing hard minutes. Mitchell missed all of last season because of knee problems; Greene was injured in the opener and didn't return until the final four games.

Without them, the Kings did well to reach the Western Conference final, where they lost to the eventual champion Chicago Blackhawks. With Mitchell and Greene — and a better effort offensively than they had Monday — this team could be formidable.

"I think Mitchy would have been a big help going into that Chicago series last year. I think with him we would have been a lot better. Could have even defended that Cup again," Doughty said.

"And even though we're not the defending champs, we still see that Cup as just part of us, and we want to get it back."

Taking a Flyer on Berube

Coach Peter Laviolette was put on a short leash after the Philadelphia Flyers missed the playoffs last season. He ran out of slack after they started 0-3 and was replaced Monday by assistant coach Craig Berube, another bizarre move by a team now better known for its strange personnel decisions than for winning.

"It was more about how we played. It was unacceptable," Holmgren said at a news conference in Philadelphia. "We don't look like a team at all and I felt just a gut feeling that I needed to make the decision."

Holmgren is on the short leash now, with assistant GM Ron Hextall waiting in the wings.

One happy footnote: former King Ian Laperriere will be one of Berube's assistants.

If the Flyers aren't inspired by the gritty Laperriere, they are beyond help.

Money well spent

Patrick Roy's checking account was dented by the $10,000 fine the NHL imposed for his "irresponsible" actions at the end of Colorado's 6-1 victory over the Ducks last Wednesday, but it could prove to be a good investment.

Roy has a history of losing his temper ,but in this instance there might have been a method to his madness: His outburst got the attention of a city that had largely ignored the Avalanche the last few seasons and earned his players' respect.

"It just shows that he cares about his players a lot," MacKinnon said. "He's very passionate and he'll stand up for what he believes in and not really think about the circumstances or the criticism."

Slap shots

Which is more surprising: that 80-year-old Scotty Bowman is on Twitter or that he tweeted his support of general managers who advocate ending or severely penalizing fighting?

The fighting debate was revived after Montreal enforcer George Parros suffered a concussion in a face-first fall during a tussle with Toronto's Colton Orr.

"We're stuck in the middle and need to decide what kind of sport do we want to be," Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman told Canada's TSN network. "Either anything goes and we accept the consequences, or take the next step and eliminate fighting." Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford was blunt. "We've got to get rid of fighting. It has to go," he told TSN. Pittsburgh's Ray Shero said league officials must "be leaders, not followers, in this area" and consider a ban.

It is awards season, and members of the UConn women's basketball team surely will be honored in a variety of ways this month. All of that is well and good, but there are other things to take care of, like winning a national title.

STORRS — Shortly after cornerback Byron Jones crossed the finish line with a 4.36-second 40-yard dash before several scouts and coaches at the UConn Pro Day Tuesday morning, one NFL representative could be heard saying, "That's ... ridiculous."

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft marched into courtroom 7 at the Fall River Justice Center Tuesday and told jurors that two days after Odin Lloyd was found dead, former tight end Aaron Hernandez looked him in the eye and told him he was completely innocent.

ALBANY — Before there could be Tennessee, there had to be Dayton. Before there can be a resolution on whether there will be a Final Four in Indianapolis in 2016, there was the small matter of getting to the Final Four in Tampa, Fla., in 2015.